Royal Challengers Bangalore faced a massive defeat in IPL 2019 when they were bundled out for 113 in their chase of 232 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Hyderabad on Sunday. Jonny Bairstow and David Warner blasted hundreds and added a record 185-run opening stand earlier in the afternoon to set the tone for a crushing SRH victory.
RCB needed their two big guns: Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to do exactly what Jonny Bairstow and David Warner had done for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Instead, RCB collapsed to an embarrassing 35 for 6 in 7.3 overs. Where Bairstow (114) and Warner (100 not out) contributed 214 runs to their team’s colossal 231 for 2, Kohli (3) and de Villiers (1) added a total of 4 runs between them.
Before this match, RCB had registered three of the five biggest wins in the IPL in terms of runs. In 2016, RCB had defeated Gujarat Lions by 144 runs. RCB had thrashed Kings XI Punjab by 138 runs in 2015 and in 2013, RCB had demolished Pune Warriors by 130 runs.
Kohli’s decision to bowl first backfires
This defeat will embarrass Royal Challengers Bangalore. Virat Kohli had opted to bowl first because he felt batting would be easier in the second innings. Well, this is what happened. RCB’s bowlers including the two big names Umesh Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal were smashed around the park. When it was RCB’s turn to bat, they looked clueless against Mohammad Nabi, who finished with 4 for 11 off his 4 overs.
Consequently, the game was all but over when Rashid Khan came on to bowl in the 10th over. It was a matter of time before RCB rolled over and ended their agony against SRH, who finished as runners-up in 2018.
And this what SRH did without Kane Williamson, who was rested because of a niggle in the shoulder. Bairstow and Warner were brutal. In fact, Bairstow was more dominating than Warner, who played second fiddle during that sensational opening stand.
It was not just about brute power. Some of those shots would have left the most elegant stylists of the game in awe. Bairstow became only the third Englishman after Kevin Pietersen and Ben Stokes to score an IPL hundred while Warner joined Kohli and Shane Watson as only the third batsman to hit 4 IPL hundreds.
This was batting of the highest quality.
David Warner and Jonny Bairstow are now the only opening pair to be involved in three successive 100+ run partnerships in the Indian Premier League. SRH were shocked by Andre Russell in their first match of the season but now they are the team to beat.